Love Hawk
by bluecatcinema
Summary: What if Blu were a suave, confident ladies' bird? *Collaboration with Zacarais*
1. The Visitor

_(Editor's note: This story is the result of a collabaration between myself and Zacarais. Basically, it's a "What If?" scenario that Zacarais thought up, so, just so you know, Blu will be acting somewhat differently then he usually does.)_

**Love Hawk**

**Chapter One: The visitor**

In a small town by Mooselake, Minnesota, in the early hours of the day, Linda Gunderson was woken by her pet blue macaw, Tyler Blu Gunderson ("Blu" for short), who roused her by imitating her alarm clock.

"Good morning, Blu." Linda chuckled, tickling his chin.

The two then went through their morning rituals: brushing their teeth/beak, having breakfast, Linda coercing Blu into taking his vitamins, and finally, opening their bookstore, "Blue Macaw Books".

After all that had been done, Linda brought Blu some hot chocolate and marshmallows with cookies. Reaching through his bars, Blu opened the latch and clung to the cage door as it swung open, before jumping off and coming to the hot drink.

"Ah, this the life." He sighed. Linda had pampered and spoiled Blu his entire life, and as a result, he had become cocky, self-assured, and smug.

As he was about to start drinking, he noticed the canadian geese Alice and Chloe sitting on a bench outside.

"Hello, ladies." He crooned. "What brings such lovely birds to my neck of the woods?"

"Just taking a rest, casanova." Replied Alice tiredly. "Flying's hard work."

"I wouldn't know about that." Shrugged Blu. "But it certainly seems to do wonders for those pretty wings of yours."

"Oh, go on!" Gushed Chloe, blushing fiercely.

To say Blu had a way with the ladies was an understatement. He had picked up these skills the day the bookstore had accidentally received a shipment of dating books. Blu had read them all, learning how to woo ladies with just a few words and facial expressions. Before he could charm them further, Alice and Chloe were scared away by a human skidding on the ice and crashing into their bench. Getting up, he spotted Blu, and started conversing in an odd language, calling out _"Arara! Arara!"_ before slipping again and crashing into the window.

Linda opened the door to let the man in.

Are you alright?" She asked.

"I'm not really built for this weather." Shivered the man as he entered the store, rubbing his hands together.

"Oh, are you looking for some books?" Linda asked.

"Books? No, no." The man chuckled. "I have come over six thousand miles, looking for him."

The man gestured at Blu, who stopped short of taking a bite out of a cookie in surprise.

The man gave a business card to Linda, reading "Dr. Tulio Monteiro, Doctor of Ornithology."

"Doctor of Ornithology." Linda read out loud.

"Ooh." Gasped Tulio, gazing at Blu. "He's magnificent!"

Tulio started cooing and cawing, flapping his arms like wings.

"Linda, a little help here!" Blu called, deeply disturbed by the doctor's display.

Since Linda didn't speak bird, she didn't realize Blu's distress.

"Wow, you're actually communicating!" She gaped, awestruck.

"Yes, yes!" Nodded Tulio. "I introduced myself and shook my tailfeathers counter-clockwise, thus deferring to his dominance."

"I did not get that at all." Blu grimaced.

"So, Dr. Monteiro..." Linda started.

"Oh, no 'doctor'." Smiled Tulio. "Call me Tulio. Your macaw is a very special bird. In fact, as far as we know, Blu is the last male of his kind.

"Really?" Linda asked.

"Yes." Tulio replied. "And recently, we found a female, and our hope is to bring the two of them together to save the species!"

_'A female version of me?'_ Blu thought. _'I must be dreaming!'_

"Oh. Well, yeah, sure." Linda stuttered. "When can she come over?"

"Oh, no, no." Tulio shook his head. "She's in Brazil. Blu must come to Rio de Janeiro!"

Linda burst out laughing.

"Rio? Brazil?" She chuckled, while Blu checked a nearby globe for Brazil's location. "No, nononono. I never let Blu out of my sight. He needs me."

"Oh, no. You misunderstand." Tulio explained. "It's all been arranged. You will be with him every step of the way. And I will be with you."

Linda, idly arranging books, knocked one over in shock.

"Ummm..." She said uncertainly. "Look, I know you're just doing your job, but I can't, we... Blu is very particular, and we have our little routine here, and we're not big on travel. Heck, he doesn't even fly!"

"But of course he can fly." Tulio said confidently as he examined Blu. "He's a perfect specimen."

"Uh, what are you doing?" Linda asked nervously.

"Don't worry, their natural instincts always take over." Tulio reassured her, before tossing Blu into the air.

"No, wait, wait! No!" Linda said, a moment too late.

Blu sailed through the air, flapping his wings madly, before falling flat on the floor.

"Well, almost always..." Tulio said sheepishly.

"Blu!" Cried Linda, reaching for his prone form.

"You call yourself a doctor?" Seethed Blu, yanking his beak out the wooden floorboards. "If my beak's suffered any damage..."

"Are you okay?" Linda asked tenderly, picking Blu up and holding him closely.

"Perhaps he's too domesticated..." Mumbled Tulio.

Angered, Linda set Blu down and marched toward Tulio.

"It was very nice of you to step in, and squawk around, and throw my bird, but now it's time for you to go." Linda said firmly, giving Tulio back his card and pushing him towards the door.

"I'm very sorry." Tulio apologized. "I'm very sorry. But wait, wait, Linda, Linda..."

Linda pushed him through the open door.

"This could be our last chance." He pleaded.

"Have a safe flight." Linda said coldly, before closing the door in Tulio's face.

"Linda, please, listen to me." Tulio begged, face pressed against the door's glass. "If we don't do this, his whole species will be gone!"

Tulio pushed his card through the letterbox.

"Just... think about it?" He offered.

That night, Blu set up a makeshift runway on a bookshelf for a flying attempt.

"'Too domesticated'... What does that so-called doctor know, anyway?" He asked himself. "I'm a perfect specimen of birdhood! I can handle flying, no problem!"

Steeling himself, Blu ran down the runway, wings open. Unfortunately, he lost his nerve at the last second, veering off and becoming tangled in the Christmas tree lights he used as borders.

"That was... just a practice." He said to himself. "Next time, it's for real."

At that point, Linda came down the stairs, alerted by the commotion.

"Blu?" She called, before seeing him all tangled up, an embarrassed look on his face.

The next morning, Linda sat in the door frame of her bedroom, Blu perched on her knee.

"I promised I would always take of you, didn't I?" she said to him. "And have I ever broken a promise?"

Blu looked at her, an inscrutable look on his face.

"I'm scared too, but I wouldn't make you do this if it wasn't the right thing to do." Said Linda, raising her fist. "What do you say, Blu?"

Capitulating, Blu shared one of their special fist bumps in agreement.

"That's my big brave boy." Smiled Linda. "And we'll be back home before we even know it."

_'And one lucky lady will be wooed before she even knows it!'_ Thought Blu smugly.

**To Be Continued...**

_(Rio and all associated characters are the property of 20th Chentury Fox and Blue Sky Studios.)_


	2. Love at First Sight?

**Love Hawk**

**Chapter Two: Love at First Sight?**

After a long plane ride, Blu and Linda arrived in Rio. After meeting up with Tulio, Linda placed the caged Blu in the back of the ornithologist's jeep. After applying some sunblock, she did the same to Blu, leaving a white splotch on his beak.

As they travelled toward their destination, Blu took a moment to survey their surrounding. Closing his eyes, Blu felt the tropical wind on his face. For some reason he couldn't explain, he felt as if there was something familiar about the place. Blu was shocked out of his musings by masked dancers.

After recovering from that shock, he heard a canary singing in portuguese atop his cage, batting a bottlecap like it was a tambourine, alongside a dancing red-crested cardinal.

_"Oba! Lay, lay, lay, ey, ey, ey!"_ Sang the canary.

Noticing Blu, the two flew down and addressed him with more portuguese.

_"E ai!"_ Smiled the canary. _"Tudo bom?"_

Blu, in preparation for the trip, had read some english-to-portuguese dictionaries, and answered them in kind.

_"Ola, amigos."_ He said confidently, before chancing some english. "It's great to be here in your wonderful country."

"Hey Nico, he's a tourist." The red-crested cardinal said to the canary.

"Funny, you don't look like one." Nico told Blu.

"Really?" Asked Blu, looking at himself. "I don't?"

"Except you got pigeon doo-doo on your nose." Said the red-crested cardinal, fingering his own beak.

"No, it's just SPF 3000." Said Blu haughtily, wiping the white splotch off his beak.

"So, you here for Carnival?" Asked Nico.

"No, I'm here to meet a girl." Blu said smugly.

"Oh, a girl?" Smiled Nico. "Little word of advice: Brazilian ladies respond to confidence." To accentuate his point, Nico spun his friend around, who then fell into his wings like a swooning girl.

"Yeah, it's all about swagger." Said the red-crested bird. "You gotta puff out that chest, swing out that tail, eyes narrow, like some kinda crazy love hawk. AARAWWK!"

"Thanks for the advice, guys, but I think I got the whole confidence thing covered." Blu said smugly.

"Well at least let us help bust you out." Nico declared.

"Yeah." Agreed his friend. "I'm gonna pop that cage open like a soda can!"

The red-crested cardinal rammed the cage, trying to break it open, but to no avail.

"You call that poppin'?" asked Nico.

"This thing is robust!" The cardinal panted.

"Relax guys, I'm fine." Blu told him. "The cage is great. Love the cage."

"Ah well." Shrugged Nico. "Suit yourself."

As he and his friend flew off, Nico called _"Bem-vindo!"_

"_Bem-vindo _to you too!" Blu called back.

All too soon, the jeep arrived at it's destination: Tulio's aviary. As they entered, Tulio began talking.

"This is the heart and soul of our aviary: the treatment room." He was saying, before calling over the patients with bird calls.

"They really like you." Noted Linda, before a whole bunch of birds swarmed over him. "A lot!"

"Yes." Smiled Tulio, birds of every shape and size clinging to him. "I'm their great big momma bird."

Tulio poured some bird seed in his mouth, chewed it up, then opened wide to allow the birds to eat it.

"Eww." Grimaced Blu, disgusted.

"Oh, wow." Chuckled Linda.

"Want some?" Tulio offered, mouth still open.

"No thanks, I'm good." Linda cringed.

As they walked through the room, Tulio continued talking about his work.

"Many of the birds here were rescued by smugglers." He explained.

"Smugglers?" Asked Linda.

"Yes. and unfortunately, the poor birds are hurt, or even killed in the process." Tulio said sadly. "But with proper care, they can be saved."

The three came upon a dishevelled-looking sulfur-crested cockatoo.

"Look here." Said Tulio. "This poor guy was found last night."

The cockatoo turned towards Tulio, squawking feebly.

"Hey, buddy." Tulio said kindly. "You're looking great today." He stroked the cockatoo's head. "Much better, much better."

As they moved on, Blu called "Get well soon.", to which the cockatoo responded with an unfriendly glare.

_'What's his problem?' _Blu thought to himself.

"So, where's Jewel?" Asked Linda.

"Oh, we have a special place for her." Said Tulio. "She's a very spirited bird."

"Oh, I'll say." Groaned one of Tulio's interns, turning to reveal a badly scratched face.

"She did that?" Asked Blu, temporarily perturbed. "No problem. So she's a little feisty? I can deal with that."

A short time later, Blu was pushed through an entry chute into the specially prepared habitat. As he took in his surroundings, he saw in the reflection of the metal panel that Tulio had fluffed out his head feathers.

_'What has he done to me?'_ Blu gasped inwardly. _'I look ridiculous!'_

After fixing his feathers, Blu went looking for his intended lady friend. As something whooshed overhead, he looked up, and saw Jewel, the ceiling lights showering her with radiance.

_'Whoa, she's beautiful.'_ Blu thought, stunned. _'She's like a gorgeous blue angel. An angel that's getting really close...'_

Jewel tackled Blu, pressing her foot onto his neck.

_"Quem é você?"_ She spat. _"Que que você tá fazendo aqui?"_

Blu made a series of choking sounds.

_"Que?" _Asked Jewel.

_"Você está em pé garganta." _Blu gasped.

_"Quem é você?" _Jewel repeated.

_"Estou Blu, de américa." _Blu wheezed, running out of air.

"Oh, you're an american?" Asked Jewel, finally releasing him.

"Thanks." Groaned Blu. "Need my throat for talking. Anyway, as I just said, my name is Blu. And you must be Jewel. I can see why they call you that, for your beauty shines like the most perfect gem."

Jewel examined Blu closely. "You look like me." She declared.

"I wouldn't say that, gorgeous." Blu grinned suggestively. "My good looks, great as they are, pale in comparision to yours."

"Come on." Said Jewel, taking his wing." We don't have much time."

"My thoughts exactly." Smiled Blu, allowing her to lead him to a nearby tree.

"You ready?" Jewel asked, as they reached the top branch.

"You bet." Blu grinned, leaning forward to kiss her. Unfortunately, the kiss fell short, as Jewel backed away at the last second.

"Whoa, hi." Said Jewel, pushing Blu away. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think, gorgeous?" Blu winked suggestively.

"You actually thought we were gonna kiss?" Asked Jewel, outraged. "We just met!"

"Hey, easy." Said Blu, trying to calm her down. "I was told..."

Before he could say another word, a disco ball dropped from the ceiling, and Lionel Riche's _Say You, Say Me _starting blaring out of the speakers.

"Okay, I had nothing to do with that." Said Blu. "But you have to admit, it's a pretty good song." He started dancing in place and singing along with the song. "_Naturally..._ Sing it, Lionel."

Angered beyond reason, Jewel tackled Blu off the branch. On landing, they tumbled, Jewel ending up in Blu's wings. Grinning, Blu leaned forward for another kiss attempt. Jewel responded by dragging him into the undergrowth, resuming her attack.

"Will you get off me?" Yelled Blu, pushing her away.

But no matter how many times he tried, he just couldn't get Jewel away from.

_'I know I wanted her to be all over me, but this is ridiculous!' _He thought.

Unfortunately for Blu, by that time, Tulio and Linda had left the observation room, leaving a security guard in charge of protecting the aviary. The guard, hearing a noise in the treatment room, found the cockatoo on the floor, chirping quietly. As he tried to help, the cockatoo leapt up and wrapped a chloroform pad around his face, knocking him out. Taking the guard's keys, he then opened the door for a mysterious visitor.

Shortly, back in the habitat, a battered Blu was trying to get some rest, but was kept awake by Jewel's attempts to pry open a grille with a rock.

"Hey gorgeous, do you mind?" He said crabbily. "I'm trying to get some sleep!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, sleepyhead." Jewel said sarcastically. "I'm trying to escape!"

"Why?" Asked Blu, mystified. "Do you not like my prescence in this place that keeps us together?" He winked cheerily.

"No, actually." Jewel snorted. "I have better things to do with my time then be stuck in an oversized box with such an obvious _pet_."

"That's companion, gorgeous." Blu corrected her. "Speaking of which, I think you could use a little companionship of your own." He made a clicking noise with his tongue. "Whattaya say?"

Jewel shook her head in disgust, before hearing the door open. She flew towards it, leaving Blu alone.

"Is that a no?" Blu asked, before hearing Jewel cry out. "Jewel?"

He then noticed a human approaching.

"Hi there." He said brightly.

A second later, Blu saw nothing but darkness.

**To Be Continued...**

_(Rio and all associated characters are the property of 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios.)_


	3. Captured

**Love Hawk**

**Chapter Three: Captured**

Blu and Jewel found themselves trapped in a cage, a burlap covering blocking their view. Jewel pulled at a hole in the cover with her beak, making it wider.

"I must say, this night really isn't going the way I hoped it would." Said Blu drolly.

"Shh!" Jewel put a feather to her beak. "Play dead!" She hissed, before dropping to the cage floor.

"Play... what?" Asked Blu, unsure.

"Just do it!" Jewel hissed once more.

Shrugging, Blu entered into overly dramatic death throes, collapsing to the floor and twitching violently.

"Stop twitching!" Jewel said.

"But it's the twitching that sells it!" Blu claimed.

Flat on the floor, eyes closed, they waited. Blu could hear the sound of someone knocking on a door, the door opening, then a conversation between several people, the subject of which he was unable to make out, the covering muffling the sound. Then came the sound of the covering being pulled off.

"What the...?" Came a gruff voice.

The cage door was opened, and a hand reached in and grabbed Jewel.

"I thought I told you I needed these birds alive." Said the hand's owner.

Blu opened one eye slightly. The hand and voice belonged to a bearded man in dreadlocks.

"Tell me, Fernando." He said to a young boy, waving Jewel's "dead" body at him. "Does this look alive to you? Huh?"

Springing into action, Jewel bit the man's thumb and flew into the air. Screaming in pain, the dreadlocked man ordered two others to stop Jewel, but she was too fast for them.

"Jewel!" Called Blu, both eyes open, as she flew towards a wall fan with a missing blade.

Just as she was about to pass through the gap, she was grabbed by the throat and pinned to a wooden beam by a sulfur-crested cockatoo, the same one that Blu had earlier seen in Tulio's treatment room.

"Nigel!" Called the dreadlocked man. "Alive."

Obediantly, Nigel brought Jewel over to his master, who returned her to the cage.

"That was your plan?" Blu asked petulantly. "To just take off and leave me? Gee, thanks."

"Well, why didn't you follow me?" Jewel protested.

"Uhh..." Mumbled Blu, unwilling to reveal his inability to fly to her.

"Nice work, Nigel." The dreadlocked man complimented his pet.

"Yeah, nice work, Nigel." Huffed the more corpulant of the man's colleagues, to which Nigel replied by shrieking and opening his head crest, scaring him.

"The last two blue macaws on Earth." Declared the dreadlocked man, affixing a chain to Blu and Jewel's ankles and chuckling. "These are worth a fortune. Hey, Fernando. Hang these up in the other room."

Obeying, Fernando picked up the cage and carried it into the next room, where many more caged birds resided.

"Hey birdy." Called a little blue bird, packed tightly in a cage filled with yellow birds. "Let me out. Let me out. LEMME OUTTA HERE!"

On the other side of the room, a military macaw paced rapidly around her cage.

"Who's a pretty bird?" She twittered to herself madly. "I'm a pretty bird, I'm a pretty bird. AHAHAHAHA! I'm a pretty bird, I'm a pretty bird...

Next to that cage was one containing a bat.

"I was framed!" The winged rodent protested. "They got the wrong guy!"

"Sorry, guys." Fernando told Blu and Jewel as attached the cage to a chain. "Nothing personal."

With that, he left the room, leaving it's occupants shrouded in darkness.

"Are you cold? Scared?" Blu asked Jewel, opening his wings. "Because if you are, I can offer comfort and/or emotional support."

"How can you be so flippant?" Jewel asked him. "We're trapped here!"

"No problem." Blu shrugged. "Linda'll find us, sooner or later."

"Oh, great." Nodded Jewel sarcastically. "Then she'll stick us behind another set of bars. right?"

"Yeah." Agreed Blu, before catching himself. "I mean, no!"

"Look, _pet_." Jewel took care to emphasise the second word. "Cages may work for you, but I don't want to belong to anyone."

Their conversation was interrupted by Nigel, who was rattling a chicken bone against a cage.

"Something seems to be lodged in my beak." He declared, turning to a group of small blue birds. "Would you mind?"

The blue birds scattered in terror, with one scared individual pushed to the front. Quivering, he reached for the piece of food trapped in Nigel's beak, only for him to snap it shut and laugh maniacally.

Nigel then leapt onto the blue macaws cage, knocking them for a loop.

"Oh, I know I'm not a pretty birdy." He sneered at them. "But I used to be quite handsome. Lights, camera, action."

_I was striking suave, ambitious_  
><em>Feet to beak, so birdylicious<em>  
><em>Now I'm vile, I am villainous, and vicious, oh and malicious<em>

_I had it all, a tv show, women too_  
><em>I was tall, over one-foot-two<em>  
><em>Then the got a pretty parakeet to fill my shoes<em>  
><em>That's why I am so evil why I do what I do<em>

_He was superstar_  
><em>So young and vital<em>  
><em>He's nasty<em>  
><em>A South-American Idol<em>  
><em>He's a suspicious bird<em>  
><em>Who sad that about me<em>  
><em>A very vicious bird<em>  
><em>I'll have you rotisseried<em>

_I'm a feathery freak_  
><em>With a beak<em>  
><em>A bird murderer<em>  
><em>You think you're better than me<em>  
><em>I never heard of ya...<em>

"Oh, make it stop!" Screeched Blu, wings on the sides of his head. "I've had more pleasure listening to William Hung sing then you, ya bum!"

"How dare you interrupt me, you parrot poltroon!" Roared Nigel, outraged. Staring Blu down, he declared "You would do well to watch your tongue, lest I rip it out of your beak."

"Bring it on, ugly." Smirked Blu, acting tough in order to impress Jewel. "We'll see whose tongue gets ripped out of whose beak."

"Yes, we will." Nigel sniggered darkly, before flying away. "Sweet nightmares!"

"Jerk." Snarled Blu. Noticing Jewel seething, he asked her "Hey, are you okay?"

"No." Jewel answered quietly. "I am definitely not okay!"

Jewel started ramming herself against the cage, causing it to tilt.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Blu asked.

"Getting out of here!" Jewel declared, ramming the cage again. "Are you going to help me, or what?"

"Why don't you just open the door?" Asked Blu, reaching through the bars and opening the latch with his beak.

"Are you kidding me?" Jewel whispered, surprised.

"What?" Shrugged Blu. "It's just a standard flip/slide bolt."

Jewel attempted to fly out of the window, but Blu grabbed onto the cage with his beak.

"What are you doing?" Asked Jewel, tugging on the chain.

"I can't." Mumbled Blu.

"What?" Jewel demanded. "You can't what?"

As Nigel and two of the poachers entered the room, Blu opening his beak in surprise, letting go of the cage, and thus, started to fall.

"I can't flyyyyyy!" He screamed, dragging Jewel down with him.

As they fell, the chain caught on a washing line, and the two slid down it.

"You couldn't have mentioned this before now?" Jewel asked.

"It didn't matter before now!" Blu protested.

The two then slid straight into a wall.

"I hate you." Groaned Jewel.

As the washing line came loose, the two dropped again. Fortunately, their fall was broken by boxes filled with foam packing peanuts.

"Soft landing." Mused Blu.

"No thanks to you, flightless." Jewel snarled.

"Hey, easy!" Said Blu. "We're still alive, aren't we?"

Nigel and the fat and thin poachers rounded the corner.

"There they are!" Pointed the thin one.

"We gotta get outta here!" Said Jewel.

The two blue macaws ran, greatly impeded by the chain, culminating in them tripping over each other.

"Listen, flying may not be my thing, but walking is." Blu declared. "Just follow my lead: Inside leg, outside leg..."

"Inside leg, outside leg..." Jewel chorused, keeping in step. "Oh, this is great. I'm chained to the only bird in the world who can't fly!"

"Not the _only _bird." Blu protested. "There's emus, and kiwis, and..."

"Duck!" Jewel said suddenly.

"No, ducks can fly." Said Blu.

"No, duck!" Said Jewel, pointing out some humans lowering a heavy box directly in their path. The chained birds only just managed to squeeze underneath it.

Dodging an airborne lunge from Nigel, the two failed to spot the end of the pathway. Falling onto a canvas shade, they bounced into a bucket, and rolled along, until they crashed into a metal barrier, dislodging a piece and riding it across the Rio rooftops. As Nigel closed in on them, Blu instructed Jewel to hold on, turning their ride to the left just before Nigel could catch them, leaving the cockatoo to crash into an electrical transformer, knocking out the city and himself.

A short while afterward, Blu and Jewel found themselves in the jungle, to Blu's chagrin.

"Ugh." He grimaced. "Look at all this filth! Moss on the trees, dirt on the ground, bugs everywhere..."

"Look, I hate to break it to you, but this is where our kind naturally lives." Jewel said condescendingly.

"Hey, hey, Don't talk to me about nature." Blu huffed. "I watch _Animal Planet_. Do you realise the sheer amount of disease-carrying insects and parasites there are in the soil around here?"

"That is why we stay in the trees, and not in the ground." Jewel explained, poiinting to a tree up ahead. "After you."

"Oh no, I don't think so." Blu shook his head. "Nuh-uh. I would feel much more comfortable in something... man-made." Looking around, he spotted a wooden hut. "Hey, how about there?"

As they neared their intended roost, Jewel shook her head in disbelief.

"I can't believe I have to drag your smarmy butt up there." She groaned.

"Drag me?" Snorted Blu. "Watch and learn."

Without further ado, Blu climbed up the hut, using his beak and talons to full effect, dragging the besumed Jewel behind him.

"Blu... Just... Wait..." Protested Jewel, as Blu's maneouvres left her sprawled across a support beam. "Whoa! Blu!"

"Who's dragging whose butt now, huh?" Smirked Blu, leaning in from above.

"Ha-ha, very funny." Said Jewel sarcastically, before Blu started dragging her up again. "Whoo!" She gasped as she was hoisted up, hanging upside-down. She found herself laughing in spite of herself.

With one final tug, Blu lifted her onto the gap between the huts' wall and roof.

"See, who needs flying?" Blu said proudly.

"Birds." Jewel said simply. "Birds need flying. Flying is... is freedom, and not having to rely on anyone." Smiling widely at the very thought of it, she turned to Blu. "Isn't that what you want?"

"I dunno." Shrugged Blu. "Sounds a little lonely."

Jewel's face fell slightly.

"Let's get some sleep." She suggested.

"Sleep, sure." Nodded Blu. "Don't suppose I could have a goodnight kiss?" He asked, grinning widely.

"I don't think so." Jewel shook her head.

"Well, how about a goodnight hug?" Blu offered, wings opening hopefully.

"Don't make me hurt you." Said Jewel, a wry half-smile on her beak. Nestling her head into her wing, she uttered "Good night."

"Yeah, good night." Sighed Blu, looking out over Rio, As he looked at the glowing metropolis, his thoughts turned to his owner. "Goodnight, Linda." He whispered.

**To Be Continued...**

_(Rio and all associated characters are the property of 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios.)_


	4. Flying Lesson

**Love Hawk**

**Chapter Four: Flying Lesson**

The next morning, Blu and Jewel set to work on breaking the chain. They were in the process of hooking one end of a long vine onto a tree branch, the other end of which was wrapped around a large rock, hung over a smaller rock. The idea was to let the rock drop on the chain, breaking it and freeing them.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Jewel asked, her vpice slightly muffled by the vine in her beak.

"Positive." Blu smirked, pointing out some scrawling he had done in the ground. "Check out my math."

"Yeah, that's... that's comforting, thank you." Jewel said sarcastically. "Let's just get this chain broken."

"Right." Agreed Blu, as they finally succeeded in hooking the vine to the branch. "Then we can go and find Linda."

"No, _you_ can go find Linda." Jewel corrected him. "Once this chain is off, I'm going to go back to being free in the jungle."

"Just like that?" Blu asked, looking hurt. "Without so much as a goodbye kiss?" He leaned in close, smirking widely.

"Oh, buzz off." Jewel shoved him.

The shove knocked Blu off balance. Attempting to steady himself, he accidentally pulled the vine off its hook. As it sprang forward, the loop at the end caught in Blu's beak, dragging him, and Jewel, with it. The rock it was holding slammed down on the ground, and the two chained macaws landed on the rock itself, tumbling to the ground.

"Nice try, brainiac." Jewel groaned.

A rustling in a nearby bush caught Blu's attention.

"I think something's watching us." He declared.

From out of the bush popped up two toco toucan chicks, who promptly flew over to them.

"Oh, be careful, Blu!" Jewel said sarcastically, taking one of them in her wings. "They might snuggle you to death!"

Blu had zero experience with kids. But, looking at the little toucan tug on his wing, he felt his heart melt.

"Oh, c'mere!" He beamed, taking the toucan into his wings.

This was exactly what the toucan was waiting for. He quickly began tearing Blu's feathers off with his beak. As Blu screamed with pain, Jewel was attacked from behind by another toucan chick, who pulled on her eyelids. More chicks seemed to come out of nowhere, attacking them from all sides. As Blu and Jewel attempted to evade them, they ended up wrapping the chain around themselves and falling to the ground.

"Attack!" Commanded the biggest chick, and the rest dive-bombed Blu and Jewel, jumping up and down on them like they were a trampoline. The commotion alerted an adult toco toucan, who poked his head out of his tree hollow home.

"What's going on down there?" He asked, flying down to reign in his unruly offspring. "Go, go! Off with you!"

"Daddy! Daddy!" The chicks cheered, swarming him.

"Okay, guys, guys, I've told you a thousand times!" He chuckled. "Manuela, Sofia, listen to me..." One of the chicks jumped on his head, landing on his eye. "Oww! Right in the eye!"

"Ohh, precious, aren't they?" Jewel said sarcastically, as she and Blu got to their feet.

"Kids? Seventeen of 'em! And one on the way." The father declared, before turning his attention to the hollow. "Hey, he's not a maraca, stop shakin' him!"

In the hollow, two of the chicks hastily put down an egg.

"They're giving me gray feathers! Ohhh, this papa needs a break." Groaned the father. "So, you two lovebirds headed for carnival?"

"Lovebirds?" Jewel repeated distastefully.

"Indeed, we are." Smirked Blu, putting one wing around Jewel. "Isn't that right, honeybeak?"

Jewel replied by stomping down hard on Blu's foot. As he writhed in agony, she held up the chain.

"So, do you think you could help us get this... thing off?" She asked.

"Lucky for you, you know Rafael, and Rafael knows everybody!" The father flourished his wings, sending two chicks flying into the air, and landing on his eye. "Ow! Again with the eye! Do you want me to call your mother?"

"No!" Cried the chicks, flying away.

"Works every time." Rafael chuckled to Blu and Jewel. "They're scared to death of her!"

"Call me for what?" A stern-looking keel-billed toucan marched up to him.

"Aaah! Yelped Rafael. "Eva, my love, I have to take this young couple to see Luiz."

"Luiz?" Sneered Eva. "Huh. You don't fool me for a second. You and you _amigo _just want to sneak off to Carnival!"

"Ah, Carnival." Sighed Rafael, walking up to Eva. "That magical time when I met the most beautful bird in the world." He took Eva's wing and kissed it lightly.

Jewel scoffed, but Blu realised that Rafael was attempting to sweet-talk Eva intoletting him go.

"Huh!" Snorted Eva, pulling her wing away.

"I still remember the song that was playing when I first laid eyes on you." Rafael smiled. _"Tall and tan and young and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes_  
><em>walking..."<em> He sang, taking Eva in his wings and twirling her around. "Come on baby, sing it!"

Eva started singing... incredibly off-key.

_"And when she passes, each one she passes goes... AHHHHHH!"_ She screeched, deafening Blu and Jewel, and sending some nearby birds flying out of their trees.

"Like a river of the sweetest honey!" Beamed Rafael.

"Ohh." Winced Jewel. "I guess love is deaf, too!"

"Come here!" Smiled Rafael, pulling Eva into a kiss, to the disgust of their chicks.

Blu had to admire Rafael's way with women. _'And I thought I was good with the ladies!' _He thought.

"Okay." Sighed Eva, well and truly wooed. "Take them to Luiz. But hurry back." She stroked Rafael's beak with her wing tip.

"You are an angel!" Rafael said lovingly. "I'll miss you, my juicy little mango!"

"I'll miss you, my pudgy papaya." Eva smiled, before being distracted by her young's antics. "Hey! Marco, Carlos, put your brother down, now!"

"I can't believe she actually fell for it!" Whispered Rafael.

"So, how far is this Luiz?" Blu asked.

"Oh, not far." Shrugged Rafael. "Thirty minutes, as the crow flies!"

"And how long as a certain handsome blue macaw named Blu walks?" Blu asked, a grin on his face.

"Bobo here can't fly." Said Jewel bluntly.

"But, but... he's a bird!" Rafael protested.

"Not all birds fly." Declared Blu. "There's ostriches..."

"You're not an ostrich!" Jewel interrupted impatiently.

"Well, not technically..." Muttered Blu, annoyed.

"Wait, wait, wait." Rafael butted in. "My friends, I wanna help, but to walk the whole way? It, it, it can't be done!" He turned to see Eva struggling with their children. "But hey, we might as well give it a shot! Let's go, quickly." He steered Blu and Jewel away. "Don't look back, they sense fear!"

A short while later, Rafael brought Blu and Jewel to a small cliff, adjacent to a hang-gliding flight path, intent on teaching Blu to fly. As he looked over the cliff, Blu felt a distinct sense of disconfort.

"You sure about this?" He asked.

"Don't worry, Blu. It's in your DNA." Rafael smiled, pointing the hanggliders. "And if our featherless friends can do it, how hard can it be?"

Their attention was then drawn by a human on a two-man hang glider screaming "Wait, wait, wait! Mommyyyyy!"

"Fun, right?" Rafael smiled."

"Yeah, right." Blu said sarcastically. "Fun."

"Okay, I need you two to get closer together." Rafael gestured. As the two obeyed, he motioned again. "Closer, _cloooser_." As they obliged, Blu and Jewel ended up bumping into each other slightly. "Ooh, nice. Now, put your wings around each other."

"What?" Jewel asked.

"Come on, amiga." Rafael said. "It's not like he's gonna bite. Are you?"

"Don't worry." Smiled Blu, putting his wing around her. "I don't bite."

"It's not biting that concerns me." Jewel said drily, reluctantly putting her wing around him.

"Now, you flap your right wing, you flap your left wing, and together, you fly!" Instructed Rafael.

"This really doesn't seem aerodynamically possible." Protested Blu.

"_Ay-yi-yi-yi... _you think too much!" Declared Rafael. "Flying is not what you think up here." He tapped Blu's head. "It's what you feel in here." He pressed his wing against Blu's chest. "And when you feel the rythym of your heart, it's like samba!" Moving to the edge of the cliff, he leaned right over it. "You fly!" He soared up into the air, laughing joyfully. "See? It's easy!"

"Easy?" Asked Blu. "Easy for you to say, because from here, it looks really, really hard!"

"Hey, if you want to see Linda again, this is the only way." Asserted Jewel.

"Okay, you're right." Admitted Blu.

"Of course I am." Jewel agreed.

"This is for Linda." Blu said.

"Right." Prompted Jewel.

"Keep it simple." Blu said to himself.

"Easy-breezey." Jewel smiled.

"Thrust, lift, drag..." Blu recited the basics of flight.

"Oh, come on, let's go!" Losing patience, Jewel grabbed Blu and together they ran towards the cliff face.

"Inside leg, outside leg, inside leg, outside leg..." They chorused.

"Come on Blu, you can do it!" Jewel encouraged him.

"I can do it, I can do it, I can do it..." Blu repeated. At the last moment, they jumped. For a brief, moment, it seemed like Rafael 's plan had worked. However, they rapidly lost altitude. They tumbled screaming down the cliff face, rolling over a ridge and ended up landing on a hang glider.

"Am I dead?" Groaned Blu, raising his head.

"No." Gasped Jewel. "We're still alive!" HA-HA!

As the hang glider soared over Rio, Blu couldn't help but be amazed by the sights.

"This is incredible!" He smiled. This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!"

"See what you've been missing?" Jewel asked him.

"Yeah..." Said Blu, awestruck.

"Alright Blu, you're flying!" Called Rafael. "Sort of, not really. But do you feel it?"

"Yes!" Blu called back. "I do feel it."

Something Blu couldn't explain, some primal instinct, overtook him. He stood straight, and slowly began to open his wings.

"No, no, Blu, wait!." Jewel said, trying to stop him.

But she was too late. A gust of wind blew Blu and Jewel off the hang glider.

"_Ay, carumba._" Sighed Rafael, flying down after them.

As they dropped, screaming once more towards the beach below, they bounced off another hang glider, and Blu's beak tore through through the fabric of  
>another. Then they fell onto a hang glider user's face, causing him to crash into a collection of volleyballs. Sprawled on top of one, Blu and Jewel went bouncing across the beach, eventually crashing heads-first into a surfboard. As they collapsed onto the sand, Rafael walked up, tutting quietly.<p>

"You did not feel it in here." Rafael said to Blu, pressing a wing to his own chest.

Jewel spat out a beakful of sand. "Ya think?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Rafael then spotted a produce truck.

"Let's catch a ride to Luiz!" He declared, flying over. Landing in the back, he called "Hurry, you two. _Vamos! Vamos_!"

Blu and Jewel were forced to follow on foot, dodging a bicyclist and a roller skater.

"Hey, watch it!" Called Blu, barely avoiding being run over. "Last of the species here!"

"Come on, lovebirds!" Called Rafael, as the truck's motor started.

Jewel made it onto the truck first, with Blu just managing to scramble on just in time.

"Ah, you made it!" Smiled Rafael.

"I would love to go five minutes without almost getting killed." Blu said testily. "Is that too much to ask?"

"For a bird who can't fly?" Jewel smirked. "Oh, yeah."

"Cute and funny." Blu smirked back. "You're a keeper alright, gorgeous."

"Keep your compliments, pal." Jewel shot back. "I'm definitively not interested in them, or _you_, for that matter."

"Your beak says 'no'." Smiled Blu as he leaned forward. "But your eyes say 'yes'."

"Keep telling yourself that." Jewel pushed him back, but she was blushing slightly.

Rafael watched their little back-and-forth silently, a knowing grin on his face.

As the truck drove off, Blu was totally unaware that Linda and Tulio were in a Jeep the next lane over, being directed by Fernando to the smuggler's hideout.

**To Be Continued...**

_(Rio and all associated characters are the property of 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios.)_


	5. Dance, Duel and Doubt

**Love Hawk**

**Chapter Five: Dance, Duel and Doubt**

As the produce truck reached it's destination, a crowded marketplace, the sudden stop caused both Blu and Jewel to fall out of the back, and Blu ended up sprawled all over Jewel.

"Well, hello..." He smirked.

Jewel pushed him off, annoyed. Looking at the chain, she declared "I'm gonna chew through my own leg if this doesn't come off soon."

"Relax." Rafael reassured her. "If I know Luiz, we're right where we want to be."

"Hey, Ralfy!" Called a voice from above.

It was Nico and his red-crested cardinal friend.

"If it isn't the king of carnival." Nico cheered.

"Nico! Pedro!" Smiled Rafael. "What up, family?"

"Where you been hiding yourself, bird?" Pedro asked.

"Man, I thought you was dead!" Declared Nico.

"Hold up, rewind!" Said Pedro, noticing Blu and Jewel. "Ain't that the bird from the cage?"

"Guess he didn't need our advice, after all." Smirked Nico, looking at Jewel.

"You work fast!" Pedro complimented Blu.

"Baby got beak!" Said Nico.

"You was locked up, and now you rolling with a hot wing?" Asked Pedro. "Whoo! I wanna be like you!"

"What can I say?" Smirked Blu, putting one wing around Jewel. "The ladies just can't resist me!"

"No, it's not what you think." protested Jewel, slipping out of Blu's grasp. "We're just... chained together."

"Hey, I'm not judging you." Said Nico.

"Keep it spicy!" Said Pedro suggestively.

"Oh, yeah!" Agreed Nico.

"Hey, guys, we're looking for Luiz." Rafael explained. "Have you seen him?"

"Yeah, I seen him." Said Pedro. "But you didn't, because you just missed him. He took the trolley back to the garage."

"Oh, great." Groaned Jewel.

"Realx, baby bird." Nico told you. "You can catch the next one."

"Yeah!" Agreed Pedro. "It's time to take it to the next level!"

"What's wrong with this level?" Asked Blu.

"C'mon, this ain't the level." Pedro declared. "The next level's the level. You gotta shake your tail feathers!"

Rafael, Nico and Pedro began dragging and pushing a protesting Blu and Jewel.

"We gotta get this chain off!" Spluttered Blu.

"Come on, lovebirds, you're in Rio!" Smiled Rafael. "You should enjoy yourselves!"

"Yeah, live a little!" Smirked Nico.

Blu and Jewel were pushed to a tarp-covered collection of crates and boxes. As they passed through a small gap, they entered a world of music and lights, where birds of all kinds were dancing to funky music.

"Welcome to paradise!" Declared Nico.

"Some party, huh?" Smiled Rafael.

"My kind of place." Said Blu, looking around. "Pretty ladies, everywhere I look!"

He winked at Jewel, who simply tutted.

"_E ai, garerra!"_ Nico greeted the patrons.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" Nico called to the crowd at large. "Ralfy has some special guests from out of town, and let's show them some love, because I don't think they get out much!"

"Yoyoyoyoyo!" Boomed Pedro. "Everybody put your wings together, clap 'em as loud as you can! Flap 'em, clap 'em, I don't care, slap 'em!" He then made his "love hawk" call twice in a row.

"Party in Ipamena, baby." Nico crooned.

The two beat on drums fashioned from old cans, and burst into song.

_I want to party_  
><em>I want to samba<em>  
><em>I want to party<em>  
><em>I want to samba<em>

_I want to party_  
><em>And live my life (live my life)<em>  
><em>I want to party (party)<em>  
><em>And fly<em>

_Hi, imma fly, fly just like a bird_  
><em>(But you are a bird!)<em>  
><em>Oh yeah, you're right, <em>  
><em>So let me fly just like a rocket, then (ok)<em>  
><em>Fly so high where I need to come down for oxygen (hey)<em>  
><em>Cause once we start it, baby, ain't no ain't no stoppin' then (hey)<em>

_Cause I just want to live my life, and party (hey)_  
><em>All I want is to be free, and rock my body (ok)<em>  
><em>Ain't nowhere around the world that I want to live my life<em>  
><em>In Rio<em>  
><em>Cause in Rio<em>  
><em>In Rio, I realize<em>

The music had a strange effect on Blu. First, his foot started tapping in time to the beat, then he started bobbing his head. As his tail feathers began to twitch, a long-forgotten memory of a Blu as a chick dancing in a tree hollow popped into his mind, and his entire body began dancing beyond his ability to control it.

"What are you doing?" Asked Jewel, both bemused and impressed.

"Uhhh... I don't know!" Admitted Blu, as his body contorted into more and more elaborate moves.

"Alright, Blu!" Cheered Rafael from the sidelines.

Deciding to just go with the flow, Blu's dancing got better and better. Jewel began dancing herself, looking alluringly at Blu as she did so.

"Hey, she likes you." Rafael told him.

"Of course she does!" Blu replied confidently.

"Then when are you going to make a move? Come on, the time is ripe!" Rafael exclaimed.

"Well... Maybe later..." Blu said hesitantly.

"Ahh... Go wait for your feathers to fall off. Go on!" Rafael chuckled.

Rafael pushed Blu into Jewel. Blu expected her to recoil, but instead, she nudged him and started dancing. He danced along with her. As they moved together in perfect step, Blu felt a strange tingly feeling. He smiled at Jewel, who, to his astonishment, smiled back. As they danced around each other, Blu took her wing and pulled her in close, which actually caused her to giggle. As the music reached a crescendo, they wrapped their wings each other and spun rapidly. Blu then launched Jewel into the air, where she began singing:

_"Layalayalayalaya..." _She sang, bathed in the club's lights, flapping her wings to stay airborne.

Blu stared at her, lovestruck. _'Wow.'_ He thought. _'Just like an angel...'_

__"Layalayalayalayaaaaaa..." __Finished Jewel, as she came back down to earth.

For a moment, the two chained birds simply gazed to each other. Then they started leaning forward, their beaks inching closer, closer, closer...

Then the tarp was pulled off, blinding the birds with sunlight. They regained their vision in time to see a band of marmosets descending on them. The sinister simians had been enlisted by Nigel to track down Blu and Jewel, and had finally located them. Their leader, the one wearing a gold wristwatch as a belt, swaggered up to them.

"You two are coming at me." He sneered at Blu and Jewel.

"In your little monkey dreams." Jewel sneered back, spitting at the marmoset's feet.

"You heard the lady." Said Blu, also spitting.

As the marmoset scowled, Rafael tried to settle things peaceably.

"Come on!" He put a wing around the marmoset. "Can't we all just get along?"

"This isn't your fight, big nose!" Snarled the marmoset, before he was grabbed by a roseate spoonbill.

"You mess with my friends, you mess with me." The spoonbill declared.

"And us!" Cried the rest of the assembled birds.

For a moment, the two sides merely stared each other down. Then...

"Birds versus monkeys!" Yelled Pedro.

"Get them!" Commanded the head marmoset.

The two armies clashed. Nico and Pedro launched berries at their targets, Rafael used his "big nose" as a weapon. Blu and Jewel used their chain to trip one marmoset up, but Blu was then tackled by the leader. Thinking quickly, Jewel pulled at the chain, causing it come up to the lead marmoset's groin. As they shared a winning smile, Blu and Jewel heard the bell of the trolley.

"We gotta go!" Declared Jewel.

"Need a lift?" Asked the spoonbill, lifting Blu and Jewel up by the chain.

The marmosets tried to stop by grabbing Blu and forming a chain, but Nico was able to break by throwing his bottlecap hat like a shuriken.

"Take that, you funky monkey!" He taunted, before he and Pedro followed.

The spoonbill deposited Blu and Jewel on the trolley.

"Thanks!" Called Blu.

"Anytime!" The spoonbill called back.

Rafael, Pedro and Nico then joined them.

"Now that's what I'm talking 'bout!" Cheered Pedro.

"Oh man, we threw down!" Blu gloated.

"Yeah, we threw down!" Agreed Jewel.

"You guys were like fire and ice!" Rafael told them.

"Thunder and lighting!" Added Nico.

"Hip and Hop!" Smiled Pedro.

"Yin and yang!" Blu offered, trying to act mysterious. He put his wing around Jewel into a close one-armed hug.

_'Okay, fine. But if he pushes it...'_ Jewel thought while frowning slightly. Sure enough, Blu started to dip towards Jewel's beak. _'Yep, he's pushing it.'_

Jewel shoved Blu slightly to the left, making him lose balance and land flat on his back, a surprised expression on his face.

The sky rang with the laughter of other friends.

A short while later, the sun began to set over Rio. Blu sat at the front of the trolley, next to Jewel. Looking behind him, he saw that Rafael, Nico, and Pedro were observing him intently. Rafael gestured for him to get closer to Jewel, to which he whispered, "I got this!"

Starting with an old favorite, he slowly made to put his wing around her shoulder. However, she quickly spotted him.

"What are you doing?" She asked, an odd smile on her beak.

"I... thought you looked cold." Blu said lamely. "Figured I'd warm you up."

"I'm fine, thanks." Said Jewel, gently pushing his wings away.

"Oh, okay." Blu said quietly.

At that moment, Nico began to sing a love song.

_Wasn't really thinking, wasn't looking, wasn't searching__  
><em>_for an answer__  
><em>_In the moonlight__  
><em>_When I saw your face..._

_'Mood music.'_ Thought Blu gratefully. _'I can use this.'_

"Wow." Sighed Jewel, admiring the view. What a beautiful sunset."

Blu opened his mouth, intending to say something charming and witty to Jewel.

_'Tell her the sunset's not as beautiful as she is.'_ He thought to himself. _'That'll work.'_

Blu looked back towards Jewel, and he noticed something that made the words die in his mouth. He felt the tingly, strange new feeling that he'd only felt once before: at the club, dancing with Jewel. His feeling suddenly allowed him to see with sharp clarity. He observed how the feathers on Jewel's head flowed with the wind, how her wings resting on the trolley were perfectly preened, how her ocean-blue eyes seemed to beckon to him...

So enamoured with her eyes was he, that it took a moment for Blu to see that Jewel had realized he was staring.

Blu instinctively flinched despite himself, expecting his face to be rearranged. No blow came. After Blu hesitantly opened his eyes, he saw that Jewel was looking at him, with her head slightly cocked and a quizzical smile on her face. Blu coughed, a bit embarrassedly, to cover his rare moment of inadequency. He quickly reflected upon what just happened.

_'Wow, she is beautiful...' _Blu thought._ 'I wonder why she didn't kill me for staring at her? And how come I lost my train of thought? What was that feeling I just had? Could it.. could it be true love? Wait, then does this mean she likes me back?' _

All of these things spun around inside Blu's head, and to make it short, he had a personal mini nervous breakdown.

"Blu, are you alright?" Jewel asked, a little concerned.

"Oh, yeah, perfect! I'm okay, fine! Awesome. Never been better..." Fortunately, Blu somehow managed to stop this nervous blubbering and keep from making a total fool of himself.

"Umm... if you say so." Jewel looked away, a bit disturbed, yet smiling slightly due to Blu's antics.

Blu mentally berated himself for missing a golden chance. However, by now he totally lost his courage and finally turned to Rafael for help. Rafael sighed, shaking his head, and flew next to Blu below the top of the trolley.

"Say to her, 'I love your smile!'" Rafael whispered to Blu.

"Rafael loves your smile!" Blu said to Jewel, putting on a smooth smile.

"What?" Jewel frowned, not sure if he heard him right.

"Nevermind. Tell her, 'You have beautiful eyes.'" Rafael muttered.

Clearly not realizing his mistake, Blu said, " I have beautiful eyes!"

Jewel gave him a weird look, saying, "Uhhh... yeah, okay. Sure. They're, they're nice..." Then, she looked away.

If Rafael hadn't been flying, he would have face-palmed. "No! Her eyes. Her eyes!"

"Your eyes. Your eyes are great, not mine." Blu amended, grinning. "I mean, you know, mine are okay, but your's... I bet I can see right through them!"

He seriously hoped he'd gotten it right this time. However, all he earned was a disturbed Jewel discreetly looking away.

Rafael decided to take a gamble, seeing as how Blu was failing epicly, and threw caution to the winds. "Blu, just tell her how you feel!"

_'Okay, this it.' _Blu thought. "Jewel?"

"Yeah?" Jewel replied, smiling, and thinking that Blu might finally get it right this time.

"I've been wanting to tell you, that I... that I..." Blu braced himself and put on a smile.

"You what?" Asked Jewel, looking almost hopeful.

"I... I..." Began Blu, the words dying on his tongue. "Forget it." He sighed. "It's nothing."

"Oh." Said Jewel, looking disappointed. "Okay..."

_'What is wrong with me?'_ Blu screamed inside his head. _'Why couldn't I just tell her? I'm such a coward!'_

Dropping his head in shame, Blu spent the rest of the ride in total silence.

**To Be Continued...**

_(Rio and all associated characters are the property of 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios.)_


	6. Separation Angst

**Love Hawk**

**Chapter Six: Separation Angst**

As the trolley stopped near to a garage, Blu and Jewel hopped down from it.

"Ladies and gentleman, I give you: Luiz's garage!" Rafael declared.

Blu and Jewel made their way to a partly-closed gate, the gap being only big for one of them to go through at a time.

"After you." Blu offered.

"My, how chivalrous." Said Jewel, impressed. "I guess this is it."

"Yeah." Agreed Blu, following through the gap. "Quite an adventure."

"End of the line." Smiled Jewel.

"Yep." Blu nodded. "Journey's end."

"You know, in spite of everything, this little trip has been kinda... fun." Jewel admitted. "_You've _been kinda fun."

"Well, I try." Blu shrugged. "Not that I have to. Pleasing lovely ladies like you has always been a talent of mine."

"Could have done without the cheesey pick-up lines, though." Jewel added.

"Ooh!" Cried Blu, acting stung. "A little below the belt, don't you think?"

The two shared a small chuckle as they entered the darkened garage.

"Luiz?" Called Rafael. "Are you there? Luiz? Hey buddy, I've got some friends I want you to meet!"

The boot of a car in the back room suddenly burst open, and a bulldog ran barking through the garage. Nico and Pedro flew off in terror, as the dog made a beeline for Blu and Jewel.

"Inside, outside, inside, outside..." They chorused, trying to run away.

But the bulldog tackled them to the ground, pinning them. For a moment, it snarled at them. Then it started laughing.

"Ahahahah!" Chuckled the bulldog, strings of drool hanging off his jowels. "I got youse _gooood_!"

Blu and Jewel stared, half-terrified, half-confused.

"I could have ripped your throats out, but I didn't!" The bulldog declared. "But I coulda..."

"Hey-hey, Luiz!" Called Rafael, flying down. "Stop scaring my friends!"

"Hey, Ralfy, C'mere!" Luiz climbed off of Blu and Jewel and hugged the toucan. "Where ya been? You look good!"

"W-w-w-wait." Declared Jewel. "Luiz... is a bulldog?"

"You got somethin' against dogs?" Luiz asked defiantly.

"I do when they're drooling on me." Jewel retorted.

"It's a medical condition!" Protested Luiz.

"No, no. Hey, _amigo_, we really need you." Rafael urged.

"She's mean, bro." Luiz pouted.

"Luiz, come on." Rafael hopped over to Blu and Jewel and lifted up the chain. "We need your help."

"Hmmm." Luiz scrutinized the chain. Licking his nose, he declared "I think I know what to do."

Luiz led Blu to a nearby worktop, which housed a nasty-looking machine saw. As the bulldog donned a welding mask, Blu asked the obvious question.

"You sure this is safe?" He inquired. "Because I wanna be free, not dead!"

"Oh sure, nothing to it." Said Luiz, lowering the mask over his face. "Now, if anything goes wrong, scream really loud, 'cuz I can't hear too good with this thing on!" He tapped the side of the mask with his paw. "Hey, Ralfy! Hit the switch, please!"

"Don't worry!" Rafael called to Blu and Jewel before switching on the power. "He's a professional!"

As the saw whirred into life, Luiz began pushing Blu and Jewel toward it.

"Now, try not to move!" He instructed them. "I can't really see out of this thing either!"

As they neared the saw, Luiz slipped on a drop of his own drool, knocking Blu and Jewel into the saw. Jewel jumped into the air, flapping her wings as hard as she could, and grabbed onto a light fixture, swinging Blu over the saw, Blu coming just close enough to lose a few milimetres off his head feathers. As he continued swing, Blu smashed into a shelf of paint cans, then pendulumed back. As Rafael tried to turn off the power, Luiz raised his head, asking "Hey, where'd ya go?" and was knocked into the saw by Blu, causing the welding mask to be sliced in half. On the back swing, Jewel lost her grip on the fixture, and they both fell toward Luiz, who caught the chain in his mouth. As the birds dangled upside-down, the bulldogs' drool dribbled onto their cuffs, lubricating their feet enough for them to simply slip out. After that happened, Luiz spat the chain into the saw, jamming it.

"Ew, gross!" Cringed Blu, shaking his foot dry. Then he realized. "I'm free! Jewel! Jewel, we're free! We're also covered in bulldog drool, but hey, it's a small price to pay! Can you believe it's finally..."

Jewel soared overhead, laughing jubilantly.

"...Over." Blu finished lamely.

Jewel, ecstatic, flew around the garage.

"Come on, guys, let's go!" She called to Nico and Pedro.

"What are we standin' around for?" Nico asked. "It's carnival!"

The two, along with Rafael, followed Jewel outside. Blu followed on foot, watching sadly as they flew around.

"Yup, I know just how feel." Said Luiz, joining him. "Watchin' 'em up there, makes ya wanna chase 'em, grab 'em in your mouth, and bite their heads off, huh?" He licked his nose, then burst out laughing. "I'm just kiddin', bro. Yeah, chasin' 'em is plenty."

Blu wasn't listening. He was lost in his own thoughts.

_'It's over, alright.'_ He despaired. _'Jewel's not going to want to be with me now that she can fly again. Who have I been kidding all this time? No female bird in their right mind would want to be with a flightless fool like me!'_

Completely despondant, Blu turned and walked away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Called Jewel, landing next to him. "Blu? Blu, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Lied Blu. "Everything's perfect. You'll be off to the rainforest, I'll be back with Linda, just like we planned."

Before Jewel could reply, Nico and Pedro butted in.

"Hey birds, stop yappin' and start flappin'!" Cheered Nico. "Let's go!"

"I, I, I guess I thought, maybe..." Mumbled Jewel.

"What, that you'd come to Minnesota?" Said Blu sarcastically. "Great. I guess I'll knit you a scarf."

"No, I... That's not what I meant." Said Jewel.

"Look Jewel, I can't spend my life walking around, following you wherever you're going." Blu said bluntly.

"Hey, it's not my fault you can't fly." Jewel shot back, hitting Blu right where it hurt the most.

"Awkward." Pedro whispered to Nico.

"Okay, okay." Rafael landed inbetween an irate Blu and a indignant Jewel. "You know what? This is good. Just clear the air. Just be completely honest with each other."

"You want honesty?" Blu snarled. "Fine. Fine, I can be honest. I don't belong here. The only reason I came here was so I could get some tail!"

"What?" Gasped Jewel, outraged.

"And, and, you know what?" Blu racked his brains, trying to think of something really hurtful to say. "I hate samba!"

Rafael and Jewel looked shocked. Nico actually burst into tears.

"Hey!" Called Pedro, comforting his friend. "That's a little much!"

"Make the mean bird take it back!" Pleaded Nico.

"Yeah, every song sounds exactly the same." Blu continued spitefully. "_'Tico-taco, ya-ya-ya! Tico-yaco, ya-ya-ya!'_ Lame! I'm tico-taco outta here!" He stormed off.

"Fine!" He heard Jewel calling after him. "See ya round, pet!"

Blu was so full of anger, it was some minutes before he realised Rafael had been following him.

"Rafael, quit following me." He snarled. "You're going in the wrong direction. Isn't carnival that way?"

"I'm not going to carnival." Rafael said quietly. "No, I'm going home."

"But I thought you loved carnival." Blu said, confused.

"I do, but I love my family much more." Declared Rafael. "And that's a decision I made with this." He put a wing to Blu's heart. "Not with this." He tapped Blu on the head.

As Blu mulled over Rafael's words, Nico and Pedro came flying in.

"Hey, Blu, Blu!" Called Pedro. "I was flying, and I saw this big cockatoo!"

"With big ninja talons!" Added Nico.

"This cockatoo was ugly!" Stated Pedro. "Anyway, that's not the point."

"And then Jewel was there, and he snatched Jewel up, he like, snatched her up!" Continued Nico. "And he was like 'You comin' with me, you little princess!'"

"And Jewel was like 'Pish! Pish! I ain't yo princess, leave me alone!' Said Pedro. "And I was like 'what?..."

"And then he was like..." Started Nico.

"Guys, stop!" Blu interrupted. "Just tell me what happened!"

"He got Jewel, man!" Summed up Pedro.

"And he's taking her to the parade!" Nico and Pedro said together.

"This is all my fault." Blu said guiltily. His face then set in determination. "Let's fly!"

Following Blu's lead, the group made their way back to Luiz's, where they found the bulldog dressed in gold clothing and wearing a fruit hat.

"Hey, guys!" Luiz cheered. "I thought you left without me!"

"Luiz, Jewel is in trouble." Blu explained. "Think you can give me a lift, big guy?"

"Sure thing!" Smiled Luiz, lowering his head for Blu to climb on. "Where to?"

"The parade." Said Blu, pointing in the event's direction.

"Oh, you readin' my mind, bro!" Luiz chuckled, breaking into a run. "Carnival, here we come!"

A globule of Luiz's spit flew into Nico's face.

"Hey dog, I'm drownin' back here!" Gasped Nico, wiping the saliva off his beak.

"You will get wet on this ride!" Luiz sniggered.

_'Hang in there Jewel.'_ Blu thought. _'I'm coming!'_

As they entered the parade, Luiz was entranced by the festivities.

"Ha ha! This is the spit!" He cheered, joining a group of dancers. "Now I can get my freak on!"

"Luiz, focus!" Blu yelled. "Rescue first, freak later! Come on!"

"Outta my way, people!" Luiz barked, running around the musicians.

"Alright guys, I'll fly ahead and look for Jewel!" Called Rafael from above.

As Blu and Luiz ran through the crowd, Blu heard someone calling his name. It was Linda, decked in a flamboyant blue macaw outfit, balancing on the hands of two dancers on a float.

"Linda!" Blu chirped. Then he noticed what she was wearing. "Linda? Wait!" He pulled heard on the back of Luiz neck, urging him to stop.

"Blu?" Called Rafael, as he, Nico and Pedro flew in. "Blu, we found her!"

"She's on some like, weird chicken float!" Declared Pedro.

"Come on!" Urged Rafael.

For a moment, Blu was torn between priorities: Reuniting with Linda, or saving Jewel. But he quickly made his decision.

"Let's go get Jewel." He told Luiz.

As they made their towards the chicken float, they entered an area filled with crocodile-costumed dancer riding skateboards.

"There they are!" Blu spotted the absurd-looking float. "That's the float!"

"Whoo, that float is a crime in itself!" Luiz chuckled.

One of the dancers' foam croc tails knocked Blu from his perch. As Luiz started biting on the tail, Blu commandeered a skateboard and wheeled to his destination. Rolling through a group of stilt-walkers, Blu position himself so one of them of step on the board, catapulting him to the float. Blu then crawled inside through a fold in the cover. Finding a caged, sullen Jewel inside, he went over to her.

"Hey, Jewel." He whispered.

"Blu!" Jewel gasped in delight.

"Relax, gorgeous. I'm gonna get you out of here." Blu declared, picking at the cage's padlock.

"No, no!" Jewel protested. "Blu, you can't be here. You have to go. Nigel is..."

Nigel came at Blu from out of nowhere, knocking him into a cage.

"Hello, pretty bird." Grinned Nigel, closing the cage's door. "So kind of you to join our little _soiree_."

"Oh come on, you really think I came alone?" Blu challenged him. "Wrong, ugly! I got three of the roughest, meanest, craziest birds in all of Rio right behind me!"

"Woohoo!" Whooped Pedro, whom Blu realized was occupying a cage with Rafael and Nico. "You hear that guys? We're saved!"

"Uhh... I think he means us." Pointed out Nico.

"That's right, that's right, thet's right... Oh." Pedro's gloating dance fell short.

"Ah, love." Sighed Nigel, holding some of Blu and Jewel's feathers, ready to alert his master of their capture. "It's such a powerful and... stupid thing."

As the cockatoo flew to the front of the vehicle, Blu and Jewel shared a look of despair.

"Some rescue, huh?" Sighed Blu, as the float's engine started.

"You did your best." Jewel comforted him, as the vehicle started moving forward.

"Thanks." Blu half-smiled. "Listen, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. You know, the whole 'get some tail' thing, and the stuff about the samba? I was just... trying to hurt you."

"I'm sorry, too." Said Jewel. "I shouldn't have mentioned the flying thing."

"Apology accepted... gorgeous" Smiled Blu.

"Right back at ya... handsome." Jewel smiled back.

Blu couldn't believe what he had just heard. Jewel had actually flirted a little with him. He considered telling her how he really felt about her, but every time he tried, nothing came out of his beak but silence.

_'It doesn't really matter anymore.'_ He moped to himself. _'We're pretty much finished, anyway.'_

As the float's engine entered high gear, the caged birds could only sit and wonder as to what fate they were currently speeding towards.

**To Be Continued...**

_(Rio and all associated characters are the property of 20th Century Fox and Blu Sky Studios.)_


	7. Flight of the Macaws

**Love Hawk**

**Chapter Seven: Flight of the Macaws**

The poacher's float motored into an airfield, where a cargo plane awaited. Disembarking, the poachers loaded the cage containing Rafael, Nico and Pedro onto the plane first, where they joined the rest of the caged birds. Blu and Jewel's had been set aside on top of a pair of crates. Fernadno, the young boy who had captured them in the first place, was also there. Casting a quick at the poachers, he sidled over to Blu and Jewel.

"I'm gonna get you guys out of here." He whispered, about to unlock Blu's cage.

Blu and Jewel had little time to wonder about the boy's change of heart, as Nigel landed on Jewel's cage, screeching loudly. Then the dreadlocked poacher grabbed Fernando's arm.

"What do you think you're doing?" He demanded.

"I... nothing!" Fernando stuttered.

"You shouldn't have done that." Growled the poacher, pulling Fernando away. "Come on!"

Fernando looked back at Blu and Jewel, a look of regret on his face. Biting the dreadlocked poacher's arm, he slipped free and ran off.

"Just forget him!" The dreadlocked man told his thin colleague, who was about to give chase. "Get the birds!"

Obeying, the thin man and his fat friend carried Blu and Jewel onto the plane, who felt as if their last hope had gone up in smoke. After they had been secured, the poachers took off. The ascent seemed a little bumpy to Blu (Unbeknownst to him, Linda and Tulio had commandeered a parade float, and had followed a trail left by Fernando to the airfield. They had attempted to ram the poachers' plane, but were too late, the top of the float merely grazing the craft).

As the plane flew to an unknown location, Blu looked over at Jewel, who was looking completely despondant.

"Hey, buck up, gorgeous." He smiled at her. "It ain't over 'til it's over."

"But it is over." Jewel sighed, giving up. "There's no way out, no escape. It was nice knowing you, Blu."

Jewel lowered her head, a look of complete despair on her face. Seeing her like that actually hurt Blu, who felt like a hot knife had been plunged into his chest.

_'I can't give up!'_ Blu thought._ 'I have to do something, anything!'_

Taking in his surroundings, he saw a fire extinguisher on the wall, and a spare piece of rope, used to tie down the bird cages during flight, hanging from a hook, the end of which was hanging atop his cage. Climbing up the cage's side, Blu grabbed the hook at the end of rope, and used it to loop the other end onto the fire extinguisher, and his end onto the cage's metal grating.

"What are you doing?" Asked Jewel, puzzled by his ministrations.

"I'm gonna pop this cage open like a soda can, baby." Blu smirked, before ramming into the side of it repeatedly.

As the cage slowly jerked across its crate, it knocked the fire extinguisher off its holder, causing it to drop to the ground, the downward force pulling on the other end of the rope, which wrenched open the top of the cage.

"Now that's poppin'!" Cheered Nico.

Blu came over to Jewel's cage, freeing her.

"Hurry." He told her, swinging the door open. "We gotta free the others."

Together, they released all the poachers' victims. Blu then toppled a pile of cages in front of the door to the cockpit, preventing the poachers from getting in. He then swung over to the rear and pulled the hatch release lever, opening the back of the plane.

By this time, the dreadlocked poacher had realised what was happening, but Blu's blockade prevented him from doing anything about it.

"Go, go, go!" Blu motioned to the other birds.

"_Freedoooom_!" Bellowed Pedro.

The birds swarmed out of the plane and into the sky, flying back to their rightful homes.

"Come on!" Jewel cheered, dragging Blu by the wing. "Come on, we need to get outta here!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Blu protested, pulling out of Jewel's grasp.

"Umm..." Mumbled Jewel, realising. "It's okay. Hey, it's okay. We'll figure this out together, right?"

As she made to hold Blu's wing in hers, Nigel suddenly attacked from behind. Laughing maniacally, he pinned Blu to the floor. Blu gasped for air, the cockatoo's talons squeezing tightly around his throat.

"Let him go!" Snarled Jewel, lunging at Nigel. The cockatoo's larger size enabled him to simply throw her off and into the wall. The impact caused a cage to topple down onto her wing.

"Aaahh!" She cried out in pain.

"Jewel!" Gasped Blu.

"Oh, my wing!" Jewel groaned.

"Oh, pity." Sneered Nigel. "Now we have two useless, flightless birds."

As Nigel laughed once more, Blu seethed with rage. Unable to move due to the cockatoo's bulk, he looked around for something that could help him put the ugly bird in his place. He spotted the fire extinguisher, sputtering from it's fall, the rope still hooked to it. Reaching out with his foot, Blu managed to loop the rope's free hook around Nigel's ankle.

"Nobody messes with my lady, jerk!" Blu declared, pulling the ring out of the fire extinguisher's release valve.

The red cylinder flew into the air, taking Nigel with it as it smashed though the cockpit door window, and out through the plane's windscreen. As Nigel managed to free himself, he was then caught in one of the plane's propellers, damaging it enough to bring the whole plane down.

As the aircraft tipped, Blu, to his horror, saw the now-flightless Jewel sliding down the open hatchway.

"Blu!" She called, trying deperately to hold on. "Blu!"

Blu tried to catch her, but wasn't fast enough to keep her from falling.

"No!" He cried out.

As he watched her fall screaming toward the ocean, Blu did the unthinkable: Closing his eyes,he jumped off the hatch. In his mind's eye, a long-forgotten memory of falling came into his head. Opening his eyes, he realised that it had become a reality. As he fell toward Jewel, he wrapped his wings around her tightly.

"Blu!" Jewel gasped in disbelief. "You're crazy! What are you doing?"

"I'm not gonna let go!" Blu told her. "I can't live without you! I... I love you!"

For a moment, Jewel just stared at Blu, shocked. Then she leaned forward and kissed him deeply. Closing his eyes, Blu felt himself overcome by a joy he had never felt before. He felt as if his heart was beating ten times faster. Unconsciously, he slowly opened his wings, then opened his eyes.

_'Feel the rythym of your heart'. _Blu suddenly remembered Rafael saying.

An instant before they hit the water, Blu started flapping his wings, halting their descent, and turning their direction towards land.

"Oh, wow." Blu said quietly, overwhelmed by what had just happened.

"Blu!" Gasped Jewel. "You're flying!"

"You better believe it, baby!" Blu cheered. "I'm flying, I'm really flying! You were right, gorgeous; No ostriches in my gene pool!"

As they soared though the Rio cliffs, Jewel whooped with joy. Blu spotted some cable cars in their path, but was easily able to avoid them.

"I can't believe you really did it!" Jewel smiled.

"Hey, it's like Ralfy said." Blu smiled. "All I had to do was feel the rythym of my heart!"

"With a little help from me, of course." Smirked Jewel.

"Of course." Grinned Blu. "Shall I take that little smooch you gave me as an 'I love you, too'?"

"You can take it anyway you want it, handsome." Jewel winked at him.

"First things first." Blu declared, becoming serious. "I gotta take you to someone who can help with your wing."

Returning to the airfield, Blu spotted Linda, Tulio and Fernando, who were seated on the float they had arrived in. As Blu came in for a landing, he gently set Jewel down first. As Linda ran to Blu, she became the first to notice Jewel's damaged wing.

"Here, let me see that." Tulio offered, reaching down.

Jewel recoiled, still mistrustful of humans, but Blu gave her a supportive look, and she relented.

Tulio took Jewel back to the aviary, where he treated her broken wing. While Jewel was recuperating, she and Blu spent a look of time together, much to Blu's delight. Their relationship had greatly changed: No longer did Blu shower Jewel with cheesey pick-up lines, for if there was one thing their adventure had taught him, it was that actions could speak louder then words, and most of Blu's actions involved waiting on Jewel tirelessly, with much kissing and cuddling inbetween.

"You know, I used to think cuddling was just for cissy birds who had no game." He told Jewel after one such session. "But I'm definitively starting to see the attraction."

"I'll bet you are." Jewel giggled playfully. "You up for another round?"

"You really have to ask?" Smirked Blu, wrapping his wings around her.

Finally, the day came for the fully-healed Jewel to be released into the wild, and Blu was set to join her. Jewel went first, given a boost by Tulio. Blu, after sharing one last fist-bump with Linda, followed, flying after her.

"There you are." Said Jewel as he reached her. "Don't you know it's rude to keep a lady waiting?"

"My apologies, lovely lady." Blu bowed in midair. "Would you be so kind to show a certain handsome gentleman the sights!"

"I'd be delighted... Handsome." Jewel bowed back, before flying away. "But you'll have to catch me, first!"

"Consider yourself caught... Gorgeous." Blu smiled, giving chase.

_All the birds of a feather _  
><em>Do what they love most of all <em>  
><em>Moon and the stars, strumming guitars <em>  
><em>That's why we love carnival<em>

Some time later, Blu and Jewel were flying through their new home in the jungle.

_"Loving our life in the jungle, everything's wild and free..." _Sang Jewel.

_"Never alone, 'cause this is our home..." _Blu joined in.

Their three chicks then lent their voices to the song.

_Magic can happen for real, in Rio _  
><em>All by itself (by itself) <em>  
><em>You can't see it coming <em>  
><em>You can't find it anywhere else<em>

Pedro then added his own spin:

_I'm a kako wero kinga kinga kinga kinga _  
><em>Birds like me, 'cause I'm a hot winga (there's your hot winga)<em>

Making his infamous "love hawk" squawk, Pedro flew over to a tree branch, where Nico, batting his hat like a tambourine, started singing.

_"Here, everybody loves samba." _Nico crooned.

_"I like the samba!" _Piped up Pedro.

_"Rythym you feel in your heart." _Rafael sang from his tree hollow home, alongside Eva and their children.

_"I'm the samba master!" _Declared Pedro.

_"Beauty and love, what more could you want..." _sang Nico.

_"Hah!"_ Whooped Pedro, as everyone else joined in the song.

_Everything can be for real, in Rio _  
><em>Here's something else (something else) <em>  
><em>You just feel it happening <em>  
><em>You won't find it anywhere else<em>

As Blu and his family soared above the jungle, they were joined by Linda and Tulio, who were hang-gliding their way through the skies. Luiz had somehow managed to get his own glider, and called out "I love you, Rio!" as he passed by.

Blu looked out over his new home, the sun slowly setting over the jungle. He was a changed bird. No longer shallow and arrogant, he felt as if he had everything he would ever want or need, right here, right now. Along with his family, he soared back down into the jungle, heading for home.

**The End.**

_(Rio and all associated characters are the property of 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios.)_


End file.
